‘Stealthing’ Is The Dangerous Practice Of Removing A Condom Without Consent And It’s On The Increase!

An alarming new trend where men remove condoms halfway through sexual intercourse without consent is sweeping across the world.

Stealthing is on the increase and both men and women are being told to stay alert and vigilant when it comes to their sexual partners.

Alexandra Brodsky, of Yale Law School, wrote a paper for the Columbian Journal of Gender and Law on the dangerous trend and admitted unfortunately it’s nothing new.

It’s a practice that’s hardly talked about but one that she argues should be treated as a form of sexual abuse. By removing a condom it “exposes victims to physical risks of pregnancy and disease” and it is “experienced by many as a grave violation of dignity and autonomy.”

As part of her study, Brodsky spoke to many women and men who experienced stealthing but were unsure how to describe it. They said they felt violated but weren’t comfortable speaking about their experiences.

“Their stories often start the same way: ‘I’m not sure if this is rape, but…'” Brodsky said. “One of my goals with the article, and in proposing a new statute, is to provide a vocabulary and create ways for people to talk about what is a really common experience that just is too often dismissed as just ‘bad sex’ instead of ‘violence’.”

Disturbingly, there seems to be an online forum of men encouraging each other to remove their condoms during intercourse. There is even a blog saying men are ‘entitled’ to ride ‘bareback’ ie. with no condom.

“Internet forums provide not only accounts from victims but encouragement from perpetrators. Promoters provide advice, along with explicit descriptions, for how to successfully trick a partner and remove a condom during sex,”the Brodsky study says.

Men on the forums are saying it’s their God-given right and they’re encouraging others to do the same saying it increases physical pleasure and gives a thrill of degradation.

“Apart from the fear of specific bad outcomes like pregnancy and STIs, all of the survivors experienced the condom removal as a disempowering, demeaning violation of a sexual agreement.”

Brodsky is arguing for a legal grounds to persecute the perpetrators. “One of my goals with the article, and in proposing a new statute, is to provide a vocabulary and create ways for people to talk about what is a really common experience that just is too often dismissed as just ‘bad sex’ instead of ‘violence’,” she says.

Have you heard of stealthing before? Do you think it should be considered sexual assault?